Early in the year the topic of Puffins arose between Michele, a fellow photographer co-worker of mine, about how we wanted see them in person and have the chance to photograph them in their own habitat. A local magazine had an article that highlighted pros and cons of each Maine Puffin tour, we both decided on Norton's Puffin Tour due to having the option of actually getting on an island to view the Puffins- all but one other tour guide is not allowed to set foot. The island that Captain Norton is allowed to dock with is Machias Seal Island, an island only occupied by American and Canadian Game Wardens and of course various bird species and seals.
I woke up around 4:30am and left with Michele at 5am to arrive in Jonesport by 7:00am; on our way we saw several Blueberry harvesters in the fields of Machias and other Western-Maine towns. We arrived on time and boarded "The Chief", an old Lobster boat that had been refitting to hosts roughly 25 people- thankfully we only had 18 people on this trip which allowed everyone a seat. We set sail and shortly after leaving the harbor the weather dropped by at least 15°, the seas were very calm. After an hour we the island was in sight with Puffins throughout the air, sea and land; as we got closer more wildlife came in to view, Puffins, Razorbill Auks, Grey Seals and even a spouting whale in the distance. The captain said the island hosts 3,000 Puffins which I had a difficult time believing but now that I have actually been to the island that has changed. Once we were on the island Michele, myself and two other photographers went into a 5'x7' shed with little spy windows. Once we heard the pitter patter of Puffins on top of our shack we opened the blinds and to my surprise Puffins were everywhere, literally covering the rocks for as far as the island spans. Puffins make an interesting call or chatter that is similar to the noise of a chainsaw in the distance.
After a few minutes, Puffins gradually moved closer to the blinds allowing us to see them up close; they are such a unique creature, no larger than an American football, with orange feet, black feathered wings, their rear plumage consists of coarse black hair, the same with the chest and belly but white and the features that makes these birds so unique is that their black eyes are immediately surrounded by an orange and red triangle with a similar colored large beak, their head capped with the black plumage with white face. Their look resembles a mix between contentedness and sadness when viewed from the side. The Puffin is a member of the Auk species which is interesting as their cousins; the Razorbill Auks are very different in terms of their color.
We were in the blinds for over an hour which is more time than most people are allowed, I was able to take roughly 200 shots; unfortunately I was overwhelmed by how many Puffins there were- I did not think enough to capture them during their normal routines of fighting, cleaning, squawking and beak rubbing. After an hour of watching and photographing the birds we re-boarded The Chief and headed back to the shore; I slept most of the way back despite the loud motor.
We stopped by one of Michele's family run business; they harvest and process Blueberries right out of their garage. They built a machine to separate the Blueberries from the bushels; the entry point of the machine has a vibrating conveyor belt to remove twigs and rocks, the belt proceeds through an enclosed vent that sucks up leaves, the berries are then dropped down on to another conveyor belt where they are dispensed in to different size Blueberry boxes. After visiting for awhile, we drove down the road to their Blueberry store that ironically is designed to resemble a Blueberry from the outside; being a connoisseur of berries I purchased two scones and a Blueberry Pie.